Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-07-30
GRAPE-GROwING.
A New Resistant Stock Found in the
Etraire VARIETY.

Etr&fre Variety.
The State Viticultural Commission is in
| receipt of advices says the Cal, showing
that highly successful experiments have
been conducted i'll France during the past
year with new remedy for mildew ard
the Peronospera viticola, a pest ranking
! next to the phylloxera French vineyard
| lists have been fighting the pest for many
years. The remedy is made of sulphate of
copper, lime and powdered sulphur.
In Spain warm weather reigns as in
France, in consequence of which the flow
ering Of the vines is greatly favored The
! most favorable weather, however, will net
| be able TO repair the damage done by frost
| The prospect of harvest is by this means
| rendered uncertain.
Felix Gillet, vineyardist of Nevada
City, i'll Il communication to the Commits
! sion, writes as follows: | would call the
| attention Of the Viticultural Commission
to the fact that most all the Etraires,"
family of wine grapes cultivated for
very long time in the south of France, are
said to be phylloxera- proof; so that the
planting of that grape in phylloxera-in-
| tested vineyards would do away with the
difficult and precarious process of grating
and grating above ground, liable to so
many accidents. ! notice that the
| "Etraires" are beingextensively planted in
| France, or, at least, planted where before
they never were thought OF. Some four or
| five years ago | introduced into this State
the Etraire de rAdui," the finest of the
'Etraires," simply to experiment upon it as
wine grape, not knowing at that time
even that it was resistant" stock or
said to be. [ find the "Etraire" rs be a
| very vigorous grower and heavy bearer !;
| the punches are large, shouldered, well set !;
the berries medium large, oval, black and
ripening before Zinfandel What kind of
wine the Etraire" would make in Cali
fornia have had no chance to ascertain,
not having more than four large
| vines of this variety 1t seems to
me that it would be we'll for your
Commission to find out whether the
Etraires will resist the attack of the
phylloxera here in California as well as
they are claimed to do in France, and then
encourage the planting of that kind in in
| fected lands. ! believe the "Etraires"
| will make as good if not better wine than
| the Zinfandel.
! Chief Executive Officer Wheeler and
Secretary Wetmore are at present engaged
In the difficult task of obtaining accurate
information of the amount of wine in the
| State at the present time. Early in the
month $50 circulars with blank spaces
were sent out, of which fifty have been re-
turned filled out. Judging from these re-
| ports, the vi:icultural officers believe that
the crop will not be more than from two
thirds 20 three-quarters of what it was last
year, confirming their original estimates
In Contra Costa county only slight dam
age to the table grape varieties has resulted
from frost and couture. The Muscat, Flam-
ing Tokay and Black Ferrara grapes will
produce full crop. Some vineyards are
| bearing so heavily that part of the crop
will have to be pulled off. The White
Malaga, Royal Nice Black Morocco and
Isabella will produce light crop. The
increase in the county will be ID per cent
over last years crop.
Very little damage was done by frost in
Alameda county, but the damage from
couture will amount to about SO per cent
which is also the estimated increase over
the crop of 1886. This is due to the new
vineyards coming into bearing. Most of
| the red wines have been badly affected by
couture, but the white wine varieties have
been comparatively free from the disease,
and therefore viii produce full crop,with
the single exception of the Reisling.